Saturday, October 29, 2011

For the past few months, I've been training for the Tulsa Run with a group of friends from the Y. It's been quite a challenge getting my runs in but overall it was a great training with a great bunch of women!

Pre-Tulsa Run Party...

All the ladies from our group
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

The 5K-ers
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

The 15K-ers
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Our fearless leaders
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Silly games may have been played
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

I broke a sweat! Whew! Getting too
old for these "young gal" games! ;-)
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Sitting on balloons
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

Not sure what Holly is doing ;-)
(Photo courtesy of Brandi Simons)

The "official" Owasso YMCA Running Group gear...

Pics from the Run (Most were taken by Mike Simons). Pre-race...

During the Run...

Post Run...

And a funny comparison...

Tulsa Run 2009

Tulsa Run 2011

Here's a little video I put together with pics from our training and from the Run...

Now to decide if I should go on and do the Route 66 Half. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it! Decisions! Decisions!

Friday, October 28, 2011

For the past month our homeschool co-op has been participating in a campaign called "Change for Change". The kids raised money which was to be donated to Project Hope Worldwide, a non-profit organization that has built an orphanage in Lira, Uganda. We gathered today to collect everyone's money. It was so neat to hear the stories of the different ways the kids gathered their change...

* One teenager donated a large portion of the monies she has made recently from babysitting,

* Two sisters have been making beaded bracelets and selling them,

* One boy had his change jar out at a garage sale,

* One family walked around their neighborhood asking for donations,

* One little boy said his mommy just went to the bank and asked for some money ;-)

Here's a video the kids watched this morning that showed them who they were helping take care of...

And this is a video of the kids above before living at Calo Me Lare...

I took those photos when I went on my trip to Uganda last December. It's so neat to see them now living in a nice, clean home with lots of new brothers and sisters. Today they have new clothes to wear, healthy food to eat, a school to attend where they get the best Classical Christian education possible, and most of all they are loved on by the house moms and administrators and are learning of God's love daily.

All the kids were so excited to help the precious, innocent children half a world away. And I am excited to announce how much they raised! Drumroll please....

$615!!!

Wowsers! That's a lot of money and will help the orphans so much! I'm so proud of those kids and all of their hard efforts!

Monday, October 24, 2011

My 11 year old daughter, Mackenzie, and I love to wear scarves so when I came across this video on the Money Saving Mom's website, I knew I had to re-post it for later reference ;-)

Making scarves from t-shirts has become really popular lately. I just came across this great post on "My Blessed Life" that has 10 t-shirt scarf tutorials. My girls recently had a craft date with some friends and they made some super cute scarves from old t-shirts...

It was so fun and I think they turned out great! They are a fun way to recycle, too!

The film crew arrived yesterday. They were young and energetic and made the girls feel very comfortable. They interviewed them as a group, then individually...

Then they bought everyone pizza and we had a pizza party for dinner that night. The girls had so much fun ;-)

The film crew wanted to film the girls "in action" so we invited them to visit their booth at the Owasso Harvest Festival and Chili Cook-Off the next day. The girls have been working very hard for the last few months making lots of crafts to sell including fall-scented candles, Duck tape items, crocheted items, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, Fall decorations, and baked goods. They had so much fun selling their crafts and telling people about Project Hope Worldwide, the non-profit organization that their profits were going to.

They set a goal for how much they wanted to make at the sale and because of the donations of several generous people, they were able to exceed their goal! :-) We also had BEAUTIFUL weather for the entire sale (unlike last year when it was cold and rainy). When the sale was over, the girls gathered together and said a little prayer to God to thank Him for the nice weather and for helping them exceed their goal.) An hour after the sale was over, it started pouring down rain! Mackenzie said, "I need a t-shirt that says, 'I truly witnessed a miracle!'" ;-)

This entire experience has been really fun for the girls and I'm just so proud of all of them. They have such sweet spirits and have a true love for serving others and helping those in need. I am amazed at their motivation and their selflessness. I can't wait to see where God will lead them next!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I loooove to go to concerts while my poor hubby tolerates them with me ;-) We got to see two great ones within the last few weeks. First we saw Third Day, one of my favorite bands. Peter Furler and Trevor Morgan were their opening acts.

Trevor Morgan

Peter Furler

Unfortunately, Third Day didn't sing my favorite song but here it is anyway ;-)

Then a few nights ago, we saw the David Crowder Band in concert - also one of my favorite bands. I'm kinda bummed that they are breaking up after this tour but you can't blame them for wanting to spend more time with their families.

Friday, October 14, 2011

The moms in our homeschool co-op had a MNO last night & we saw "Courageous" at the movies. All I can say is WOW! EVERY parent should see it. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It will make you want to be a better parent and spouse. And if you feel like you've already messed things up as a parent, if your child is still alive today, there's still time to make things right. The choice is ours to live a life of regret or a life of joy and thankfulness.

Here's the trailer for the movie...

This is a great video of the importance of fathers...

The video of "Courageous" by Casting Crowns...

You can see more great videos on the "Courageous" YouTube station here.

This is the Resolution that was mentioned in the movie - very powerful words...

THE RESOLUTION

I do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.

I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.

I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.

I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.

I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.

I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.

I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. – Joshua 24:15

(You can actually purchase a print of the certificate as well as other resources from the movie here.)

I already knew my husband, Steve, was an awesome Daddy, but this movie reminded me how thankful I should be (and am) that he is involved in our daughters' lives. He takes them on dates, tells them daily and often he loves them, he hugs on them and gives them helpful advice. He tells them he's proud of them and spends time every night after work going over their studies, talking about their day, and playing with them. Every Saturday morning he takes them to Panera for breakfast. He has an active, vested interest in their lives and they will never doubt that their Daddy loves them. He is the spiritual leader of our house and the girls will always know that God loves them and cares for them even more than their earthly daddy does.

I thank God for men of courage who are willing to step up to the plate and take on the responsibility of being a dad and to lead their family in the ways of the Lord.

Bible Verses on Being a Good Father

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."(NIV)

Malachi 4:6 - "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."(NIV)

Psalms 127:3-5 - "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court." (NIV)

Proverbs 3:32 - "For the LORD detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence." (NIV)

Proverbs 17:27 - "The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered." (NIV)

Proverbs 22:6 - "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." (NIV)

Proverbs 23:24 - "The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him." (NIV)

Ephesians 6:4 - "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (NIV)

Joshua 24:15 - "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (NIV)

Colossians 3:21 - "Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." (NIV)

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Steve and I enjoy taking the girls on date nights and for this month's date night, Steve had a fun time with Abby at the mall...

We're a little late on the band wagon, but she has recently decided she wants to "get into" Lego's. So Steve bought her first set - thankfully, they actually have some cute ones for girls ;-)

Playing shaving cream with Dad...

Mackenzie and I did something we don't normally do on a date night but I just thought it would be fun since she's getting older. First, we got pedi's (it was her first one)...

Next, we had dinner out...

Then, I surprised her and we stayed the night at a little Bed & Breakfast I found in Jenks called The Victorian Lady B&B. They don't typically allow children to stay there because it is filled with amazing antiques but they made an exception for us :-)

We reserved one room but ended up being the only guests that night so we had the entire house to ourselves. We had so much fun looking at the antiques, staying up late talking, and watching movies. Then the next morning, the owners, Deena and Michael Glass, fixed us an AMAZING three-course breakfast. It was soooo good - we even bought their cookbook with their secret recipes so we can try them at home.

I think both girls had a fun night out and Steve and I always enjoy our individual time with our girls - sweet memories that we'll always remember :-)

Thanks for Stopping By!

This is a blog I kept up of our family from about 2008-2013. I always say "I don't scrapbook. I blog." It's fun to look back the fun memories we made. It's true when they say, "Don't blink because your kids grow up that fast!"

(I now keep a blog of our family on a page called, "Keep Calm and Love Big" although I don't write as much as I'd like to - just not enough time in the day! We also have an adoption blog where we post updates called "Arms Wide Open".)